Bat Wings! Cat Wings?
Bat Wings! Cat Wings?
Bat Wings! Cat Wings?

Bat Wings! Cat Wings?

Laura Gehl (Author)

Monique Felix (Illustrator)

Regular price
$15.99
Sale price
$15.99
Regular price
Sold out
Unit price
per 
Shipping calculated at checkout.

Bats have wing, but do cats? No, of course not! In this entertaining book designed to both instruct and delight, young audiences encounter actual animal traits paired with impossible ones. Or what if they're not all far-fetched?

Ages 3 – 5

Fiction, 16 pages, 2021

ISBN 978-1-56846-374-2

 

Reviews

This very cute book is full of surprises! There isn’t a real story here. Rather, each double-page spread shows two different animals. One side of the page shows an animal with something that is normal for it, and the facing page shows an animal whose name rhymes with the first animal’s name, but which has a different sort of body part. This entertaining book is sweet to read with a toddler. The last page adds a surprise smile. Anyone who loves animals, or enjoys reading with a young child who does, will find this to be a great book for introducing domestic animals and for showing children the differences between animals. Buy this book for the funny title and cover, especially if cats are a favorite animal. Then, keep it because of how absolutely adorable it is.

-Children's Literature, September 2021

Reviews

Why do animals have the physical attributes they have—and not others? Everyone knows that a moose has antlers, but a goose does not. It’s the same with the rest of Gehl’s rhyming animal pairs:Clams have shells, but lambs don’t; an eagle has a beak, but a beagle doesn’t; bats have wings, but cats don’t; a hog has a snout, but a frog doesn’t; a grouse has feathers, but a mouse does not. The final set breaks the pattern: A kangaroo has a pouch, but you and I don’t…except “maybe sometimes.” The turn of the page reveals a baby sweetly tucked inside their parent’s cozy sweater-cum-pouch (both present White). The text is terse and patterned: “Moose antlers? Yes! / Goose antlers? No!” Each pair is positioned on a double-page spread, the silly one always appearing on recto. The animals are done in what looks like watercolors and pastels, realistic except for the absurd appurtenances on the second animal in each pair. The artwork belies the reductivism of the concept. Several of these animals will not be familiar to very young children, and they are unlikely to understand the weirdness of showing antlers on a goose’s back instead of wings, or the lamb’s shell ears. Aside from a response of wonder or incredulity—and the thrill of yelling No at the book—it is hard to imagine what a child would glean from reading this or how a caregiver would attempt to meaningfully explain the concept. Mildly humorous, attractively illustrated, but too slight to be of significant value. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus, 08/01/2021

This very cute book is full of surprises! There isn’t a real story here. Rather, each double-page spread shows two different animals. One side of the page shows an animal with something that is normal for it, and the facing page shows an animal whose name rhymes with the first animal’s name, but which has a different sort of body part. This entertaining book is sweet to read with a toddler. The last page adds a surprise smile. Anyone who loves animals, or enjoys reading with a young child who does, will find this to be a great book for introducing domestic animals and for showing children the differences between animals. Buy this book for the funny title and cover, especially if cats are a favorite animal. Then, keep it because of how absolutely adorable it is.

–Lisa Jacovsky, Children's Literature, 09/01/2021

See More